Garment carrier



Oct 17, 1939. A. E. CURRIE GARMENT CARRIER Filed July 10, 1957flrtizariarfik BY pMz/ ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 17, 1939 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFIE 6 Claims.

This invention relates, in general, to garment carriers and moreespecially to a type of garment carrier which may be'used either withina conventional suit case or as an individual piece of luggage.

When traveling today it is often convenient to be able to increase theroom in ones luggage by removing one piece of luggage from withinanother. This makes it possible to keep the number of pieces at aminimum at all times and yet have the possibility of expanding the totalcapacity.

There is now also a demand made upon even hand cases that they beadapted to carry outer garments, such as mens suits and ladies gowns, insuch a manner that no wrinkles are introduced during transit leavingthem ready to wear immediately when unpacked.

A primary object of this invention is the provision of a garment carriersufficiently compact to be placed within a suit case and yet fulfill therequirements of an individual piece of luggage.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment carrier bymeans of which either suits or gowns may be secured so as to prevent anyrumpling or creasing by folding, thus preserving the original neatnessof appearance of the garments when packed.

Another object is to provide a removable suit case fitting having thecombination of clothes hangers and a substantially rigid support forgarments placed upon the hangers.

A further object is to provide a removable suit case fitting for suitsand gowns with a cover which may be used on the outside of the fittingwhen it is carried as an individual piece of luggage, and which may becompactly folded out of the way when the fitting is used within a suitcase.

Still another object is to provide a suit case garment hanger whichgives complete support to clothes placed thereon so that other articlesin the same suit case will not rumple the clothes upon the hanger.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a clotheshanger adapted to fit within a suit case, which may be removed and hungup with the clothes either in the position as normally hung upon aclothes hanger or in a more compact form and with or without a coveringover the clothes when hung in either manner.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a removablesuit case garment hanger which is light in weight, occupies .a minimumof space in a suit case and yet is a rugged piece of luggage whencarried separately.

Other objects of the invention not specifically mentioned will beapparent from these specifications and the accompanying drawing forming6 a part thereof. Modifications may be made by those skilled in the artand it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited norrestricted to the exact constructions and formations shown anddescribed, but that the invention is to be limited and restricted onlyby the spirit and scope of the claims appended hereto.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a garment carrier embodying theinvention, shown in the extended position and having the cover closedover the garments;

Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1 except that the cover is shown open;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the garment carrier, with cover,in the closed position, i. e. as when the article is used as a separatepiece of luggage;

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3 except that the cover is removed or foldedwithin the body of the garment carrier;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken at line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through a suit case showing the garmentcarrier of this invention within a tray in the suit case; and

Fig. '7 is a sectional View at the top of the garment carrier showinghow the clothes hangers, handle and cover at this location are arranged.

It will be seen from the drawing that this garment carrier when extendedholds a mans suit just as held by a hanger and that in this position thecover may be opened or closed.

The body 10 of the carrier consists of two substantially equal sizedrectangular boards II and I2 secured together by means of hinges [3which permit them to form one large surface when in the open positionshown in Fig. 2 which may be folded in the middle and back upon itselfas shown in Figs. 4 and 5. These boards II and [2 may be made from anythin, fairly rigid light weight material such as wood, cardboard, fiberor any of the Well known composition boards, three-ply veneer having athickness of one-eighth of an inch or less having been found suitable.These boards may be covered or lined with any suitable material such aslinen, washable cloth or paper or plush by pasting or tacking itthereto.

To the top of board H a shallow strip M of the same material is securedthereto by means of hinges I5 so mounted that the strip I4 is adapted topivot toward the front of the board II, while board I2 pivots in theopposite direction. A handle I6 is formed in or secured to the strip I4for carrying the clothes hanger and a flat hook I! is pivoted to theupper portion of the board I I as at I8 for hanging the apparatus in anautomobile, on the hat rack of a Pullman car or in a closet.

On either side of the front of the board or support II near its topcorners hanger racks l9 and 20 are secured. These racks may be made fromsheet metal or cast from any reasonably strong plastic or othermaterial. They are shown as formed with side plates 2|, top plates 22,bottom plates 23, and front plates 24 extending from. the bottom plates23 part way up to the top plates 22. A plate at the back may be used forsecuring the rack to the board or support I I. There is no obstructionon the adjacent sides of the rack I9 and 29 thus permitting clotheshangers 25 to be suspended between them. These hangers 25 are formedwith a strip 26 across the top, the ends of which are adapted to passthe openings 21 between the top plates 22 and the front plates 23 of theracks I9 and 29. The hangers are thus very simple in form and are yeteasily mountable on the garment carrier by merely slipping them in theopenings 2'! and permitting them to rest upon and be suspended betweenthe bottom plates 23. The hangers themselves may be of any desired shapeand designed for suits, coats, gowns or blankets.

In Fig, 2 a suit 28 is shown mounted on the hanger, but this carrier isequally as efficient for gowns. When it is desired to hang a long gownthe shoulders thereof are mounted upon the hanger in a similar manner tothe mans coat illustrated. The lower portion of the gown is then foldedforward upon itself and the bottom is desirable to straighten them sothat the desirable creases will be preserved and no others introduced.When they are so arranged they may be so held by securing an elasticstrap 29,

provi-dedfor the purpose, by its ends between studs or loops 30 mountedon either side of the supporting board portion II. In a like manner adouble elastic supporting piece of fabric 3| provided on the lower boardportion I2 is stretched across the garments to hold them fiat againstthe supporting surface I2. Another convenient way of mounting theseelastic straps is to have hooks on the ends thereof which hook aroundthe side edges of the boards I! and I2 in a well known manner.

A special advantage of the garment carrier of this invention is itsability to be halved in area by breaking or bending in the middlebackward, thus affording at the same time a compact piece of luggagewhich not only holds the garments in pristine condition, but whilefolding the garments does so over a rigid support which is then disposedbetween the two: portions of the folded garment thus obviating any sharpcrease in the garments as when they are, packed in the common way in anordinary suit case, folded upon themselves. The upper board II isprovided with button holes 32 through which turn buttons 33 mounted onthe back of the lower board I2 project when the carrier is in the foldedposition. These provide means for keeping the carrier in this position.

Since the handle strip portion I4 may be pivoted to a position normal tothe board II this reduces the overall dimensions of the folded garmentcarrier, permitting it to be used within a piece of luggage, as shown inFig. 6, of a minimum size. It is convenient to carry this apparatus as afitting and place it on top of the other clothes within a case, so thatwhen a stop is made it may be conveniently removed, extended, and hungup by means of the previously described hook N. If it is desired toconstruct the fronts 24 of the hanger brackets I9 and 20 solid for thefull height of the sides 2| thereof, so that the hangers 25 may not beremoved from the front, the tops 22 of these brackets I9 and 29 may thenbe omitted, the hangers 25 inserted and removed from the top. When theentire article is hung up the hangers will obviously remain in place andwhen laid horizontally 'or stood upside down as would be the case whenthe suit case of Fig. 6 is carried, the handle strip I4 is pivoted toclose the tops of the hanger brackets I9 and 29 and cause the hangers tobe retainedtherein.

Another special feature of this invention is the cover 34, composed oftwo portions 35 and 36 which may be either detachably mounted to theboards H and I2 or secured near the side edges thereof as shown in thedrawing. The edges of the cover portions 35 and 36 parallel to the edgessecured to the board portions II and I2 each have one portion 31 of azipper fastener 38 attached thereto, whereby they may be joined into acontinuous cover over the front of the garment carrier. These coverportions 35 and 36 are each longer than the extended garment carrier,having an overhang 39 at the bottom and being formed into portions 49and 4| respectively of a flap at the top. To the'fiap portion M a strap43 is secured in such a position as to be adapted to be engaged by abuckle 44 secured to the lower portion of the cover member 4|. When thecover 34 is closed by means of the zipper fastener 38 the garmentcarrier may be folded neatly b-y tucking the lower cover portion 39between the boards II and I2 and then securing the upper and lowerportions of the cover 34 by means 'of the strap 43 and the buckle 44.slots 45, which may be bound with any suitable material, and which areadapted'to permit access to the handle I6 when the cover is closed overthe garment carrier in either the extended or folded positions. A fiap46 is provided to go through the slots 45 in the cover and the handle I6so that dust may be kept from entering these openings to the interior ofthe garment carrier. The overhang portion 39 of the cover may beprovided, if desired, with means for fastening it to the back of thelower board I2 to complete the closing of the cover when the garmentcarrier is to be used in the extended position, as for storing clothesin a closet, or when hung in an automobile.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new andJ-desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A garment carrier comprising two thin substantially rectangularboards pivo-tably secured together at an edge of each, garment hangerreceiving supports secured to one board near the corners away from thepivoted edge, means for holding the two boards in foldedposition and Theflap portion 4| is provided with two' carrying means secured to thebracket supporting board, said carrying means being pivotably secured tosaid hanger support board, whereby said garment carrier may be pivotedat two sections to reduce its overall area for use within a suit case.

2. A garment carrier comprising two thin substantially rectangular andrigid boards, said boards being pivotably secured to each other at anedge of each, a garment. hanger receiving support secured to one board,and flexible cover means secured to said boards and adapted to enclosethe sides of said boards upon which said support is mounted.

3. A garment carrier comprising two thin substantially rectangularboards, said boards being pivotably secured to each other at an edge ofeach for back-to-back folding, a garment hanger receiving supportsecured to one board, and flex ible cover means secured to said boardsand adapted to enclose the sides of said boards upon which said supportis mounted, said cover means including two portions each having an edgesecured to the rear of said boards and means for detachably securingtogether edges of said cover substantially parallel to the edges securedto the boards whereby said cover means may be either used to cover thehanger side of said boards or be placed on the reverse side thereof,regardless of whether the garment carrier is in an extended or a foldedposition.

, 4. A garment carrier comprising two thin substantially rectangularboards, said boards being pivotably secured to each other at an edge ofeach, a garment hanger receiving support secured to one board, and covermeans secured to said boards and adapted to enclose the sides of saidboards upon which said support is mounted, said cover means including aflap portion carrying fastening means and means secured to said coverbelow its middle portion to engage said fastening means, said fasteningmeans being adapted to hold the garment carrier and cover in the foldedposition.

5. In combination with a garment carrier of the character described, acover of flexible material for and removably secured to said carrier atopposite edges thereof, said cover having a longitudinal slit and afastener for closing said slit, a flap at the upper end of said coveradapted to fold over and enclose the top edge of said carrier, said flaphaving an aperture therein forming a carrying grip.

6. In a garment carrier for compactly supporting one or more garments,the combination comprising a pair of substantially rectangular thin flatelements pivotally secured to each other at an edge of each, a hangersupport secured to 7 one of said elements at the edge opposite saidpivotal connection, a garment hanger supported by said hanger supportsuch that a garment on said hanger may be folded laterally over theouter surface of said elements when the elements are folded one againstthe other, means carried by the other of said elements for holding thelower portion of said garment against said latter element, a cover offlexible material secured at its opposite edges to opposite edges ofboth of said elements and provided with a longitudinal slit and slidableclosure therefor to permit a garment to be placed upon said hangerwithin said cover, and means carried by said cover to fasten its endswhen the garment carrier is in the folded position.

ARTHUR E. CURRIE.

